Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work (2010)

Comedy icon. Red carpet hostess. Jewellery saleswoman. Plastic surgery fanatic. Joan Rivers career has spanned over 40 plus years, and she is known for being all of the above. The recently released on home video documentary Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work showcases not only a hectic year in the life of Rivers, but also takes a look back at key moments in her storied career, and her personal life as well.

As the documentary begins, Rivers is fretting over the fact that her schedule isn't nearly as full as it has been during other points in her career. "There is too much white space," said Rivers, wanting to see more dates written on it. Rivers, who turned 75 years old during the filming, has had a career of many ups and downs, and this is one of those down times.

Rivers shot to prominence in the mid 1960s after an appearance on The Tonight Show, where legendary host Johnny Carson told her she was going to be a star. She would become a regular guest on the show, even becoming the host whenever Carson was off. The documentary details the bitter end of their relationship, which occurred when Rivers took a talk show gig on a competing network. Conan O'Brien and Jay Leno had nothing on these two.

From there we learn about the quick end of Rivers' talk show, her family problems, her workaholic nature, and her many plastic surgery procedures.

Despite the amount of white space on her schedule, the time of filming was actually quite busy for Rivers. She launched a play detailing her life, and appeared as a contestant on Celebrity Apprentice. Rivers, who considers herself an actress first, has high hopes for the play, but things do not pan out as she had hoped. However, her stint on Celebrity Apprentice was a tremendous success, re-invigorating her career.

One of my favourite scenes in the film was when Rivers showed off her joke vault, a series of tiny, labelled mailboxes containing her material over the years. One box was labelled Cooking — Tony Danza. I think Mr. Danza warranted his own box, but nonetheless it was fascinating to see this level of organization.

Another interesting aspect of the film is how frankly Rivers talks about money. You would figure that someone who has been in the spotlight for so long, and who has had her name attached to so many brands, would be set for life — especially when that person is already 75 years old. Rivers explained that she probably could be set for life, if she chose to live carefully. That is something she doesn't want to do however. She lives in a lavish apartment, has a staff of people on her payroll, and isn't much of a coupon clipper. As a result, she is willing to take almost any job to support her lifestyle, even male enhancement commercials.

I highly recommend Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work. Even though Rivers lives in a completely different world than you or I might, she does struggle with many of the same things. Fear of rejection, money problems and self confidence are all issues tackled in this film. Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work is one of the most interesting documentaries I have ever seen, and certainly one of the funniest.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars